Desperate
by LifeonEarth
Summary: "Don't give me that look," Harry told her, though barely hiding a smile, "Like you're all innocent." "Now you said I thought of myself as innocent, Mr. Potter?" Ginny laughed and pressed the ice to Harry face and he felt unbelievable warmth rush through his body, but at the same time, chills released through him that Harry was sure had nothing to do with the ice pack at all. OTP
1. Totally Worth It

A/N: Hey Desperate readers, this is the Prologue I said I'd do, to give more background. I'll post the second chapter later; I'm getting more and more piled up with Band and other crap. Gotta memorize that music.

When Harry stepped into 12 Grimmauld Place, London, he was officially creeped out. In one long hallway, there were heads of what looked horrifyingly like House elf heads. He resisted the urge to vomit as their eyes followed him and the Aurors down the hall.

Mrs. Weasley quickly told Harry where he would be staying. A room with Ron, obviously. Harry was determined to chew out Ron and Hermione as much as possible. They had left him in the dark, not writing a lick to him all summer. Not even on his birthday. They had always written him on his birthday, and they couldn't even manage to write him then. What kind of friends were they if they couldn't do that?

As soon as he opened the door, he fleetingly saw a bush of brown hair, and he felt as if he had been tackled.

"Harry!" Hermione Granger wrapped her arms tightly around Harry neck, and even though he'd never admit it to anyone because he was supposed to be mad at her, he missed her a lot. Hermione was always a source of comfort for Harry.

"Hello, Hermione." He said, laughing. She more than likely worried her wits about him all summer.

"Harry." Ron shook his hand politely, and they heard Hermione mutter something about 'life threatening situations before and they can't even hug.'

"So?" Hermione asked.

"So what?" Harry said, that cold tone coming to his voice.

"How are you feeling?" Ron's voice seemed to tread, obviously trying not to get him angry. But sadly, it was too late for that, and Harry was yelling.

"HOW AM I FEELING?" Harry exclaimed in pure anger. "I'M GETTING EXPELLED AND YOU ASK ME HOW I'M FEELING? HOW ABOUT PUTTING THAT IN A LETTER INSTEAD OF WAITING UNTIL NOW?"

"Dumbledore made us promise not to write. He seemed to think it best." Hermione said calmly and soothingly, and Harry temper lessened.

"Dumbledore?" He asked calmer, yet the cold tone had not left yet.

"Yes, but we don't know why." She sat down on a bed and laid her head back. "I've looked it up, they simply can't expel you."

"How do reckon?" Harry asked, the tone slowly receding now.

"Well for one, it was self-defense." Hermione said in an obvious tone, "And second, the Dementors are controlled by the Ministry. You wouldn't have needed to use your Patronous had it not been for the Ministry. It's actually their fault." Hermione's tone matter-of-fact.

"I never thought about that." Harry said, surprised he'd thought all this time he should've been expelled.

"That's why I'm the smart one. I always- UGH!" Hermione's sentence was cut off by a loud, POP!

Fred and George Weasley had just apparated into Ron and Harry's room, now able to use magic freely.

"Don't bottle it all up, mate." Fred patted Harry on the back.

"It's not good for your health." George added.

"Just let it all out." Fred agrees with his redheaded twin.

"Always try to, guys." Harry laughed as small girl came in, one tiny red eyebrow cocked up.

"Damn, Harry." She said, smirking, "You need anger management. You're turning into Mum." Fred and George laughed, as did Ron. Hermione didn't find it amusing at all.

"Haha," Harry said in a mocking tone, matching her smirk without realizing it, "Very funny."

"Yes, I rather think it was." She grinned and turned to Fred and George. "It's a dead beat with the Extendable Ears."

"Damn Mum and her clever tricks." Fred cursed.

"Extendable Ears?" Harry asked, and George explained, but conveniently left out the part about the galleons Harry had given them. "Clever."

"It was until Mum Impertubed the door." George said glumly. "How'd you figure out she'd done it, Ginny?"

"Tonks told me. Said to throw anything at the door, and if it can't make contacted, it's been Impertubed. I've been flicking Dungbombs at it for an hour." Indeed she had, her hands were completely black.

"Bet you Snape told her to." Ron made a snide comment, and it caught Harry's attention.

"_Snape_?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Yep, old Snape is working on our side this time around. Said he's _sorry_ about all the wrong he's done." Hermione even snorted, it sounded so unlikely.

"Ever had that one person you just really want to choke?" Fred asked, and Ron answered.

"Percy."

Everyone froze, not looking at one another.

"What?" Harry asked before Ginny huffed and swung the door open to exit. "What's wrong with Percy?" he asked Ginny's retreating form.

"While you're here, don't say anything about Percy." Ron explained as Fred and George left after Ginny, probably to go cheer her up. "Especially around Ginny."

"What happened?" Harry asked, and Ron explained what went down with Percy. "Wow…"

"Yeah, and Dad was upset, so you can imagine how Ginny reacted when he tried to bring her into it." Hermione said, sitting up now.

"How'd he try that?" Harry asked, thinking rather cruelly that she cried.

"You see, Ginny and Percy used to be really close, the biggest outcasts in the family." Ron sighed, "Ginny used to always agree with him, whether he was right or wrong. When Percy said, 'I bet my little sister agrees.' she laughed. She said, 'Your little sister certainly doesn't agree with her smart ass brother. And he might want to get out before she gets expelled from school for using her perfected Bat-Bogey hex on him.'"

Harry mouth dropped. Where had the quiet and calm Ginny gone? Fallen of a cliff, had she?

"Yeah, I know. I swear, had she had a hold of her wand, she'd have done it." Ron shook his head, "She's never acted like that before. She's never had her own back bone to say things like that."

"In front of anyone, that is." Hermione retorted.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

"She's always been that way, fierce and fiery. Just not around other people." Heroine looked at him as if it was obvious. "Though I rather think she'll be that way now that she stood up to Percy."

"Maybe you're right." Harry said.

"Always am." Hermione stood. "Dinner should be done soon, we need to get going." Ron agreed enthusiastically as he followed her out, Harry right behind him. On the landing, Harry peered up at the room he knew Hermione and Ginny were staying in. He felt bad he had asked, even though he knew it wasn't really his fault. He rather wanted to apologize.

When they had retreated downstairs, Mrs. Weasley gave him his chance.

"Harry, dear, could you go get my daughter, please." Harry nodded and walked up carefully to the girls room and knocked.

"Who is it?" Ginny's voice was not wavering, it was furious, but Harry's. Harry's was terrified for some reason.

"It's Harry." _Why in Merlin's beard am I scared? _He asked himself. _It's only Ginny._

Harry question was answered as Ginny threw open the door.

"What?" her voice was cold and hard and it frightened him.

"I'm sorry about what I said back there." Harry apologized, "I had no idea-"

"Stop apologizing, you noble git." She laughed, the edge gone in her voice. "You didn't know."

"And it makes me feel even worse it was about me-"

"It wasn't just about you, Harry." She reassured him. "I was angry at my brother because he will believe anything if it edges him farther to his dream. And it pissed me off even further that when his own family needed him, he left."

"I still feel bad." He said frowning a little.

"I know. You always will." She smiled warmly, and Harry's stomach suddenly flipped and he got butterflies. "It's just who you are." She peered down the stairs. "I guess my mother sent you up here to tell me dinner's ready?" Harry nodded and she smiled again and just brushed by him, making the sudden butterflies worse. "Thanks, Harry." She said to him, "It's nice to know someone cares in the world, you know?" Harry watched as her mane of red hair floated down the stairs, and the war began in his head.

_What was that? Do I like her? No, no, no. I can't. She's Ginny Weasley, little sister of my best mate. She is off limits. And anyway, aren't I supposed to have a crush on Cho Chang? Do I even still have one after what just happened? Probably not. _

"Earth to Harry!" Ginny yelled up the stairs, but Harry didn't notice, for he was still battling himself over his current feelings for the redhead under him. "Harry!" She yelled again, but alas, no response. Fed up with him not answering, she climbed the stairs.

"Not answering?" Fred asked snickering.

"Nope." Ginny said, and Fred peered up from the bottom of the stairs, watching inventively as she stood in front of him and snapped her fingers in his face. No response, even though Harry was staring her straight in the face.

Sighing, Ginny only found one solution to the problem.

She slapped him.

"Blimey!" Harry held his reddened cheek, finally released from his blinding trance. Fred howled with laughter. Ginny just turned on her heel and high fived Fred when she reached the base of the stairs.

Fred laughed at Harry as the two of them entered the dining room just as Ginny took a seat next to Tonks. Harry stared incredulously at the redhead.

"What?" She asked innocently.

"You slapped me." He said, not able to conceal his shock.

"You slapped him?" Sirius asked, grinning at Ginny.

"He was in some crazy vodo trance thing." Ginny said simply. "Ask Fred. He was lost."

Fred nodded, and everyone laughed expect Hermione who was caught between shock and amusement.

"Ginny, after dinner you will _personally_ put ice on his cheek." Mrs. Weasley said sternly, but only after she wiped up the coffee she had released by laughing so hard.

Ginny nodded and muttered something about 'being completely worth it', and the outburst of laughter started up again, and even Moody and Hermione laughed.

"Arthur, you're girl's got spunk." Sirius laughed, and Ginny beamed at Harry as if to say, 'Even you're godfather is turned against you.' He just stuck his tongue out at her childishly and shook his head.

_Yep. It's official. I like her. This is sure to be an __**interesting**__ year…_

**A/N: How'd you like it? I know it's much longer than the 1****st**** chapter, but there's good info in there, and a lot of explaining. **

**I promise to make the 2****nd**** chapter at least as long as this. **

**Any suggestions to the story line are always accepted. (: And reviews are appreciated. (: **


	2. Magical Ice Packs

**A/N: So I decided to take that girls advice, because not long after that I got a review saying, "Go for it ****" Thank you to the person who said that. **

**So after I posted the A/N requesting your help, many people started following it, so since you didn't object, I'm going to go with it and we are restarting.**

**I haven't got any real ideas for this, so for right now, I'm winging it. Just going with the flow. **

_**Chapter 2: Magical Ice Packs**_

Conversations at dinner were for the most part, interesting. Well, really Harry assumed they were interesting; he wasn't really listening to tell you the truth. How could he listen when just few seats over sat the girl who was the cause of all his so called '_problems_'? Why did she have to smile like that? Why did she have to laugh like that, causing a thousand butterflies to erupt suddenly from his stomach? Harry wondered silently to himself of these issues, completely unaware of 2 pairs of eyes watching him intently.

Hermione watched Harry like a hawk, turning away only when Harry looked up from his plate that he had barely even touched. To anyone besides Hermione or Ron, Harry would look calm, but, of course, Hermione knew differently. She knew that really, he looked nervously calm, like too calm. She knew it was just some mask put upon to fool the people around you. Hermione was a master at detecting this. She herself had used it many times. What Hermione _really_ wanted to know was why Harry was like this. Was it because of the paper? Surely he had seen the articles. No… Harry would react differently. His famous temper would get the better of him and he would erupt.

A strange thought occurred in Hermione's brilliant brain.

_Could _Ginny_ be the reason?_ Hermione really didn't know where this thought came from, but she had to admit, it seemed to fit pretty well.

Hermione then glanced at Ginny who was grinning radiantly and warmly and laughing softly at Tonks' face changes, then quickly back to Harry.

Hermione couldn't believe what she was seeing, but not only did his face light up, he blushed. _He had been staring at her!_

When tried not to smile or giggle, but she failed miserably. She erupted in a fit of girlish laughter, a huge smile plastered across her face.

"Are you alright?" Ron asked her, trying not to smile himself, the outburst was so unexpected.

Hermione nodded softly, breathing deeply, trying to relax.

_Oh this is sure to be exciting. _

Sirius was really watching _both_ of them. He couldn't believe being in each other's presence could cause such a twirl of behavior. He knew Harry; he didn't act so calm normally. Seeing how this was the first time he had seen Harry and Ginny in each other presence, he guessed it was because of her. He usually indulged in conversations with people. Tonight, he looked like he was having an eternal battle raging inside of him.

And Ginny acted a little differently since Harry arrived as well. She, on the other hand, let herself loose a little more. Or perhaps it had started yesterday when that prat brother of hers showed up. He hadn't seen a redhead that mad since… well, since Lily.

Lily was the person Harry had inherited his temper from; that much was certainly clear. But still, Sirius couldn't help but remind himself of the time she yelled at Severus Snape for calling her a mudblood, the same real distaste in her voice that Ginny Weasley had shown the previous night. Sirius knew Remus had experienced the same, because he was rather gloomy the rest of the night.

* * *

"Ginny, do not forget about the ice." Harry overheard Molly Weasley whisper to her daughter after everyone else had gone to bed, though Harry did not hear Ginny reply. He only felt the end of the dark sofa beside him come down only the slightest bit and he turned to see Ginny smirking triumphantly while holding an ice pack.

"Don't give me that look," Harry told her, though barely hiding a smile, "Like you're all innocent."

"Now you said I thought of myself as innocent, Mr. Potter?" Ginny laughed and pressed the ice to Harry face and he felt unbelievable warmth rush through his body, but at the same time, chills released through him that Harry was sure had nothing to do with the ice pack at all.

"Magical ice packs are much different than those of muggles." Ginny said, "They heal if needed to. Like if I left hand prints on your face."

Harry laughed, "You didn't leave any hand prints, Ginny."

She nodded, "I know." She then sighed, "Though I wish I had."

He looked at her appalled. "Why?"

"Because you were being a git." She stated firmly. "And not because you didn't answer me, you were being a git to Ron and Hermione. You really should let people explain, because maybe they have a good explanation." She twitched a little bit; her hand was still on the ice pack on Harry's face.

"You heard me yelling?" he asked softly, a little ashamed of his actions now that Ginny had said that to him. To his surprise, Ginny let out a small bell like laugh.

"Harry, I'm sure the whole house heard you. Maybe even all of Britain."

He chuckled a little.

"You know it's alright to be scared, Harry." She said softly, looking in his eyes. He watched her eyes attentively; it was like watching chocolate churn. Harry tried to rip his eyes form hers, but he couldn't. Harry began to feel himself leaning in a little, then Ginny abruptly took the ice pack of his face, and Harry breathed out a breath he was holding.

She stood, "And I meant what I said about it being totally worth it." She smiled, trying to break the obvious tension.

"Thanks." He said sarcastically, though a dangerous smile was playing on his lips. "I always needed someone to slap some sense into me. Figuratively speaking of course."

She grinned before walking through the threshold, and back into the kitchen, leaving Harry to wonder silently to himself what could've happened if she hadn't moved away from him.

_I almost __**kissed**__ her! What in Merlin's name was I thinking?!_

Stunned and shocked, Harry made his way out of the sitting room, only to meet Hermione at the stairs, grinning like a mad man.

"Are you alright?" He asked her slowly and with great caution.

He nodded fiercely and began walking up the stairs with her.

"Were you watching?" He whispered to her.

Hermione nodded, and it looked like she was trying really hard not to let a smile come upon her. "Harry, I don't know if you know this," She started, "But with magical ice packs, you don't have to hold them." Hermione was now beaming largely, and Harry felt his heart quicken. "And I'm _positive_ Ginny knows that."

**A/N: Hehehehe. Did you like it? Hehehehe. I hope so. **

**I love this chapter because he has a lot of fun little fluff pieces, and it has its Sirius ones. (see what I did there?) **

**Reviews are accepted, in fact they are encouraged. **


	3. Charms

**A/N: I just finished this, and wanted to upload it before I took a shower and went to bed. This chapter was a major PAIN (have you guys ever seen that movie Major Paine? It's hilarious!)! I like seriously did like 3 different plots for this, but then decided to go with this one. So glad I got through it. It's a little rushed at points, and I'm sorry for that. I am surprised it's this long though. But I think I like it over all. It just took me so long because I felt stuck. Not exactly writers block, but something of the sort.**

**OK, so I know it's been forever since I updated, but I had exams I had to cram for, friend issues I needed to fix, and my grandma was in the hospital for a few days. And I got this strange inspiration to continue this Soul-Bond fic I started months ago and only got 400 words into, but now I have well over 7,000. I don't know if I'll post it, haven't decided. I have this really cute Romione moment in it, and I love it. **

**And a special thanks to MelGinnyLover, who has allowed me to rant endlessly about my many ideas, about my worries about this fic, I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO WITHOUT HIM!**

_**Chapter 3: Charms**_

"Admittedly, I wish I could've done more." Hermione was talking with Remus about the Transfiguration essay McGonagall had assigned her year, "But I ran out of parchment and I still had my Potions and Ancient Runes essays left."

"I'm sure you did wonderfully, Hermione." Lupin assured her. "You always do."

Ginny snorted, "Of course she does wonderfully. That's why I go to her for help." A light bulb went off in Ginny's head, "Which reminds me, I need you help me with my Astronomy essay."

"Why?" Hermione asked, laughing a little, "You're brilliant at it."

"But I need confirmation." Ginny said defensively, "I wasn't paying attention when she told us exactly why Venus has no moons and the consequences of that fact."

Hermione nodded, "That's easy, I'll tell you later."

For the first time, Ginny believed Hermione. Astronomy was one of the subjects that came easy to her and she actually enjoyed.

"I never liked Astronomy." Sirius commented, "Especially first year when we had to have class at 12 in the morning."

Remus laughed, "I remember you grumbling about it for weeks before James told you to suck it up and learn to enjoy being allowed to stay up later than the second years."

"It wasn't just me; James hated that class just as much as I did. You and Peter were the only ones who liked it." Sirius countered, "And Lily. Merlin Lily _adored _that class. I would know, she had to tutor me and James in it during our third year."

"You and James would have done perfectly fine in that class just like all the other classes you took if you two didn't mess around all the time." Remus laughed, "Then you wouldn't have had to be subjected to Lily for 2 hours every other day."

"Lily loved our tutoring sessions," Sirius grinned, "Well she would've if we actually _did any work._"

"I had to listen to her complain to Marlene, Dorcas, Emmeline, and I for _weeks_ because apparently you two had no respect for her." Remus said, scowling a little.

"We had respect, but we just couldn't stand Astronomy." Sirius defended, "Lily was a handful, let me tell you, but it wasn't her fault. We just couldn't _stand_ Astronomy. The only reason we actually agreed to get a tutor in the first place was because Professor Sinistra threatened to give us both a 'troll' on our end of the exam if we didn't."

"It didn't do much good, though; you and James still got a low mark in that class." Remus pointed out.

"But we passed." Sirius laughed, "Remember when we gave Lily those roses and made a huge announcement in the Great Hall that because she 'saved us from such a fate worse than death itself, we were her slaves for the rest of the year'?"

Remus laughed, and Ginny could tell they took great happiness in talking about their lost friend. It seemed to brighten their mood a little.

"And by the way," Remus smiled at Ginny, "Happy Birthday."

Ginny thought about looking down the table a few seats to see if Harry was listening to Remus and Sirius talk about his mom and dad, but she thought better of it because of his less than good attempts at being discrete about his current actions.

Ginny could practically _feel _his gaze -no, _stare_. He was _staring_ at her. And how no one but her noticed, she would really like to find out. But she wouldn't, because if she were to actually do that, the fact that they had almost kissed would be brought up, and she didn't want that to happen. Hell, she didn't even want to talk to him about it.

In truth, Ginny was avertedly avoiding Harry. She had been nervous around him before, but she had learned to control it. But those nights ago when he almost kissed her, the control was almost lost, and Ginny _knew_, she just _knew_, that if she were to talk to him anytime soon, she would lose it completely this time. And that was defiantly not what she wanted to happen. Especially over her birthday tea.

See, if she lost control, she was afraid the feelings for him she had buried would surface again.

Unless, of course he liked her.

No, no, no. He didn't like her. He couldn't. He just _couldn't_. Not possible. He had treated her like a little sister for the better part of the 4 years they had known each other.

But then again, if he had almost _kissed_ her, he must like her. Does anyone go to kiss someone unless they like them? Even if it's in the spur of the moment?

Ginny suddenly got very hot and shaky, the voices of people around her dulled out. She could feel her heart beat racing-

"Ginny!" Her head shot over to her irate mother. It seemed her attention was elsewhere, and she hadn't noticed someone talking to her. Or people, it seemed, for the whole table (the Weasley's, Hermione, Harry, and the Order) was looking at her rather strangely. "Are you alright?" Her mother asked.

Ginny nodded furiously, getting a like shocked for a second before fumbling something that she supposed was, "I need to go to the bathroom," Then exiting rather like her Harry-Fan-Girl-Self would (she knocked over her birthday tea rather ungracefully), and locking herself in the bathroom on the second landing.

She splashed cold water on her face, trying to cool herself. She sat down on the toilet seat and relaxed, trying to slow her erratic heart.

She sat there for what seemed like hours, trying to calm herself, to shove the thoughts that had caused her to almost have a heart attack out of her mind.

A soft knock came on the door. Her mother, she supposed. She hastily got off of the Lou, unlocked the door, and opened it.

But it wasn't her mother. It wasn't Hermione either. It was Sirius.

"Are you alright, Ginny?" He asked softly, and a little worriedly, though strangely like he had done this before.

Ginny nodded slowly, but she knew her face was still pale.

"Come here." He motioned her to a small couch just outside the bathroom. She followed him and she sat down on it. He carefully pulled out something from his pocket.

It was a bracelet. A really beautiful _diamond_ bracelet. It had a quaffle on it, a cross, a heart, and at least 5 more, all diamond incrusted.

He lad in in her open hand.

"Sirius, I can't take this." Ginny was breathless as she attempted to hand it back to him. He shook his head, pushed back her hand lightly, and smiled.

"I'm sorry I didn't give it to you earlier this morning with everything else, Remus had to help me find it." Sirius laughed. "It's been packed away for nearly 14 years…"

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but where did you get it?" Ginny asked breathlessly, still gawking at it.

"It belonged to an old friend of mine and Remus'. A very good friend of ours." He said rather sadly.

"It belong_ed_?" She looked up at him.

"She died during the first war… Around the time Harry's parents did, actually." He smiled sadly, again. "It was left to me, I knew that, but I was in Azkaban. Remus packed it away, I needed his help."

"But why are you giving it to me?" She asked him, a little breathless still.

"You remind me of her, and I'm sure she would've liked you, wanted you to have it." He smiled, stood, and then held a hand out to help her up as well. She took it thankfully. "Take care of it, Ginny."

Ginny nodded, and then followed Sirius back downstairs, but wondering to herself who exactly owned this bracelet.

* * *

"Do you think she's alright?" Harry asked George quietly as he helped him clean up the table before heading to bed. "Ginny, I mean."

George shook his head, while dropping dishes in the sink. "I don't know. Hermione said she had been off all day, lost in thought it seemed. Working out something in her head supposedly."

Harry knew exactly what she was working out in her head.

The almost kiss the previous night.

He knew how she felt. He just felt bad that this will probably be the worse birthday she had ever experienced because of him. Maybe that was exaggerating, but he felt bad nonetheless.

He also felt like she hated him. She had been avoiding him all day; he hadn't even been able to say a simple Happy Birthday because she refused to look at him. He felt stupid because he let his emotions –which he hadn't even completely sorted out yet- get the better of him, and because he let those exact same emotions affect him like this. He longed for her to have that bright, bubbly attitude with him again that she had acquired yesterday. He was mood brightening really, and he rather thought he could use it with the hearing being tomorrow.

Sleep did not come easy for The-Boy-Who-Lived, but when it did, he welcomed it gladly.

* * *

Harry woke up the next morning feeling more nervous than ever. He was troubled over the hearing, and to top it all off, he felt even more grief over the issue with Ginny.

When he and Mr. Weasley left for the Ministry, he looked over at Ginny sitting down at the end of the table nest to Hermione. Hermione was talking excitedly to Bill Weasley about something. Ginny wasn't even doing anything. She was just looking at her plate, but not eating anything. She looked as pale as ever, and Harry's mood darkened even more, and he felt as stupid as ever.


	4. Just A Lot Of Everything

**A/N: So I really don't have anything much to say expect thank you guys for the follows, the favorites, and the reviews. I always need them to continue my story. I love you guys, thank you. And I now have a beta, and he is amazing, he told me exactly how to get a connection going and to that I am grateful.**

**I know I'm not the fastest with updating, this update took forever, but it takes me longer to write than others. I like to perfect my writing anyway I can. I would rather give you guys a chapter that you loved and that felt inspired by 3 weeks later, than a chapter I post in a week that is good, but could be so much better. **

**I just thought I would address that. **

**Also, there are some lines here from the book OTP, I don't own it, I just borrowed it.**

_**Just A Whole Lot Of Everything**_

"I knew it!" Ron repeated, punching the air. "You always get away with stuff!"

"They were bound to clear you," said Hermione, who had look positively faint with anxiety when Harry entered the kitchen and was now holding a shaking hand over her eyes. "There was no case against you, none at all…."

"Everyone seems quite relieved, though, considering they all knew I'd get off," said Harry, smiling.

Mrs. Weasley was wiping her face on her apron, and Fred, George, and Ginny were doing a kind of war dance to a chant that went "_He got off, he got off, he got off-_"

"That's enough, settle down!" shouted Mr. Weasley, though he too was smiling, and began talking to Sirius about how Harry and he had seen Lucius Malfoy at the Ministry.

"What?" said Sirius sharply.

"_He got off, he got off, he got off-_"

"Be quiet you three!" Mr. Weasley continued to tell Sirius about Malfoy, and Sirius promised to tell Dumbledore, and Mr. Weasley said he had to go back to work.

"_He got off, he got off, he got off-_"

"That's enough! Fred- George- Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed.

Harry sat down, and Ron and Hermione sat directly in front of him. They seemed much happier than when he had arrived at Grimmauld Place, and the giddy feeling he had acquired after being cleared this morning, that had somewhat diminished upon seeing Malfoy, had returned, leaving him pretty close to being just as happy as the two of them were.

"'Course, when Dumbledore showed up, they weren't going to convict you." Ron grinned and began piling large helpings of mashed potatoes onto everyone's plate.

"Yeah, he swung it for me." Harry said as cheerfully as he could because he felt rather childish, not to mention ungrateful, for wanting to say, "I wish he had talked to me though. Or even _looked_ at me."

And as he thought this, his scar burned so badly, he clapped his hand to it.

"What's up?" Hermione looked alarmed.

"Scar," Harry mumbled, "But it's nothing… It happens all the time now…"

No one else noticed the scene, they were all now helping themselves to food and gloating about Harry's narrow escape; Fred, George, and Ginny were still singing. Hermione looked rather anxious, but before she could say anything, Ron said happily, "I bet Dumbledore joins us tonight to celebrate."

"I don't think he can, Ron," said Mrs. Weasley, setting a huge plate of roast chicken in front of Harry, "He's really busy at the moment."

"_HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF-_"

"SHUT UP!" roared Mrs. Weasley.

Harry almost choked on his chicken trying not to laugh. Hermione just laughed, Ron grinned, and Sirius shook his head, beaming.

"We were just trying to spread the good news." George said innocently.

"You know," Fred continued.

"Just in case someone in London didn't get the message." Ginny smiled to her mother.

The twins looked at Ginny and laughed then chorused, "Just being helpful."

"I don't know if you could count that as being helpful, you three." Mrs. Weasley sighed and finally sat down to eat herself.

Harry shook his head, and his mind wandered to think about Dumbledore and why he acted so strangely. He felt maybe he was being childish and stupid, that Dumbledore was just a busy man and it meant nothing, but Dumbledore was never like this, not even to his worst of enemies.

"You know," said a quiet, soft, sing-song voice from the right of him, "your mood changes quite often, Mr. Potter."

Harry turned to Ginny and laughed, "Am I that obvious, Ms. Weasley."

She looked to be debating this, "Well maybe not to someone who isn't looking hard enough."

"So you were staring at me?" he raised his eyebrow cockily. He grew to have quite the experience in this field since he arrived here.

"No, just evaluating you," she didn't miss a beat. He was impressed. A comment like that usually sent her into a blushing frenzy, much like last night. "You seemed different than just a few moments ago. Thought I'd investigate."

"By staring," he challenged her.

"Call it what you want," she said loosely, "but what's on your mind?"

He honestly almost said, "You," but stopped himself because he realized just how back to normal she was and didn't want another painfully awkward moment to ruin it again. Instead, he told her, "Dumbledore."

She tilted her head, "Why?"

He didn't think twice about telling her like he normally would, so he told her everything. He told her about how he acted during the hearing and afterwards. She watched him contently, and Harry knew he could safely say that she was solely listening to everything he was saying. When he was finished, she waited a moment, probably to think, and then said, "I think that the voice inside you is right. He was being helpful, and is just a busy man. Nothing to fret over, I'd say." She took a drink of her water and a thought occurred in Harry's head.

"Do you drink anything besides water?" He asked her, looking at the glass amused.

She shook her head lightly, "No. Not usually anyways. I prefer it though," she looked over at Harry's glass of milk and wriggled her nose, "I can't stand milk for some reason. Or Pumpkin Juice."

He chuckled. A girl who doesn't love Pumpkin Juice? Well, that's different. Almost every girl he knew had this strange fascination with the substance. Then again, he had already established that Ginny was not like other girls…

"Now what's on your mind?" Harry looked over at Ginny, and he noticed her laughing a little, an amused expression on her face.

He couldn't tell her _exactly_ what was on his mind, so he bended the truth and said, "I was just thinking about how completely deranged you are. Really, Gin, you're mental. A girl who doesn't like Pumpkin Juice? Tell me, did your mum drop you when you were a baby?"

Her smile turned into a smirk and then she whispered, "Well, well, well," she laughed a little louder, but not much, "Snarky much, are we? Quite the master, I'd say."

"That's a little rich," he shot back, feeling his mouth curve to match her smirk.

"Alright, time for bed," Mrs. Weasley said, and Harry looked over to see most people had finished eating and were now just engaging in small talk.

Ginny sighed and yawned. Harry watched her as she stood. She grinned down at him before bending down only slightly to whisper to him, "Don't challenge a Weasley, Harry. You won't win," She paused for a moment and Harry shook his head.

"Don't tempt me," he whispered back.

* * *

Harry was rather glad he didn't bring up how depressed she was for a few days or the almost kiss, or anything awkward between them. It could've been disastrous.

Instead, he just took the remaining summer to bask in how happy she was, and how happy that made him and everyone else. (If one Weasley wasn't happy, NO ONE was happy.)

In truth, Ginny was helpful in more ways than just making him happy. She was good at relaxing him.

For example, after he got a good look at the Prophet and seen how Fudge and the Ministry were taking Voldemort's return. When he got angry, she simply just told him to shut it and get over it because there is no use crying about it. (He really rather thought it was funny how she so bluntly put it, but he wasn't going to say it.)

She was entertaining to debate with. Between him, her, and the twins, they had rather interesting conversations during dinner on multiple things. One night they talked about who might be the new Defense Against The Dark Arts professor (they had concluded it wouldn't be famous people or Aurors), and then the following night they had a rather animated conversation on whether there was something between McGonagall and Dumbledore (they were careful not to bring it up while Dumbledore was around, however, that wouldn't be polite). They even talked about Ron and Hermione. They thought the pair was being rather prat-like and insufferable about the whole ordeal they believed was entirely non-existent (which it was far from it).

"I bet they will have both at least _acknowledged _that they fancy each other by the end of next school year," Fred predicted.

"Nah, by Christmas of that year," George said, "They aren't that thick,"

"Yeah, they are. At least Ron is," Ginny told them, "Hermione has let herself believe it now, I believe. Ever notice she gets all flustered for a few after talking to Ronald?"

Harry suddenly remembered something and turned to Ginny, "She hadn't written to Krum all summer, has she?" Harry asked, a triumphant smirk forming.

Ginny shook her head, "I'm neither confirming nor denying it, but I will say that she hasn't sent a letter to anyone that isn't her parents,"

Fred and George erupted in hearty and booming laughter.

It had been an overall good week for Harry and he was looking forward to tomorrows ride back to Hogwarts.

**A/N: This chapter turned out to be much longer than I had originally planned, but oh well.**

**These last few chapters have been filler chapters really, just talking about stuff I had to say, like the hearing, Dumbledore ignoring Harry and such, blah, blah, blah…**

**But the next one will be better, I promise! There's gonna be some Harry and Sirius bonding, Hermione and Ron being prefect talks and Harry's slight jealousy, Cho things, and up to getting off the train, I suppose, or even a little further.**

**Ok, I know this is cliché, but I have to do this, so sorry!**

**IMPERIO! You will now review my chapter and tell me everything you liked about it and everything you hated so I can therefore make it AMAZING!**


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